๐
Release Date: 9 September 2026
๐ฟ Record Company: Warner Music Group
๐ท๏ธ Record Label: (sic)est Records
๐ต Single: โArsenalโ
Well, bugger us sideways โ Slipknot have just kicked the doors back open.
The Iowa metal giants have surprise-released their brand-new single โArsenalโ, accompanied by an official music video, marking the beginning of yet another fascinating chapter in one of heavy musicโs most unpredictable careers.
And thereโs quite a lot happening here.
โArsenalโ is Slipknotโs first completely new music in more than three years, their first release featuring former Sepultura powerhouse Eloy Casagrande behind the kit, and the first arrival through the bandโs own new label venture, (sic)est Records.
Meanwhile, work continues on Slipknotโs eighth studio album.
New drummer.
New label.
New music.
Same bunch of masked lunatics determined to make an almighty racket.
Welcome back, lads. ๐ค๐ฅ
๐ Slipknot Enter Another New Era
Trying to keep track of Slipknotโs various eras, line-up changes and mutations over nearly three decades sometimes requires a whiteboard, several marker pens and possibly a strong pint.
But โArsenalโ unquestionably represents another significant turning point.
Slipknotโs previous studio album, The End, So Far, arrived in September 2022 and completed the bandโs longstanding recording commitments to Roadrunner Records, the label that had been synonymous with their career since the late 1990s.
Since then, plenty has changed.
Longtime keyboardist and sampler Craig Jones departed in 2023.
Drummer Jay Weinberg followed later that year.
Former Sepultura drummer Eloy Casagrande subsequently joined the madness, while longtime turntablist Sid Wilson departed the band in August 2026.
Which brings us to September 2026.
Slipknot have reloaded.
And โArsenalโ is the first shot.
๐ฅ โArsenalโ
If Slipknot were going to introduce this latest incarnation of the band, calling the track โArsenalโ feels rather appropriate.
Subtlety has never exactly been their speciality.
The song deploys many of the ingredients that have made Slipknot one of modern metalโs most distinctive forces โ enormous riffs, frantic rhythmic movement, abrasive electronic textures, aggressive vocals and the sort of percussion that sounds like somebody has thrown a drum kit down a particularly angry staircase.
But there are twists.
Corey Taylor moves between rhythmic, almost hip-hop-influenced vocal passages and the throat-shredding aggression Slipknot fans know very well, while the song shifts between bursts of frantic activity and heavier, more deliberate sections.
Taylor himself has described โArsenalโ as a โpummelling experienceโ, pointing towards its hyperactive moments and a dramatic drop towards the end as elements that encapsulate what Slipknot do.
And perhaps thatโs the most interesting thing about this single.
It doesnโt feel like Slipknot attempting to rewrite โWait And Bleedโ, โDualityโ or โPsychosocialโ.
Theyโre still messing around with the machinery.
Still seeing which buttons theyโre not supposed to press.
And then pressing the bloody things anyway.
๐ฅ Eloy Casagrande Makes His Studio Arrival
One of the biggest reasons โArsenalโ will immediately attract attention is sitting behind the drum kit.
Eloy Casagrande officially joined Slipknot in 2024 following his departure from Sepultura, stepping into a position previously occupied by Jay Weinberg and, before him, the late, legendary Joey Jordison.
Not exactly the least intimidating drumming job application in metal, is it?
Casagrande quickly demonstrated onstage why he had been recruited, bringing an absolutely ferocious combination of power, precision and speed into Slipknotโs live machine.
โArsenalโ now gives fans their first opportunity to hear him properly unleashed on brand-new Slipknot material.
And he doesnโt exactly arrive quietly.
His relentless drumming helps drive the track from the opening moments, immediately giving this latest version of Slipknot another serious weapon in its already ridiculous armoury.
Hence โArsenalโ, presumably.
See what they did there?
๐ฌ Clown Directs The Official Video
Naturally, a new Slipknot song couldnโt simply arrive with a nice video of everyone standing around playing their instruments in a warehouse.
That would be far too normal.
The official โArsenalโ music video was directed by Slipknot percussionist M. Shawn โClownโ Crahan and stars actor Jackson White.
Crahan has long played an enormous role in shaping Slipknotโs visual identity, and โArsenalโ continues that relationship between the bandโs music and its increasingly cinematic imagery.
Slipknot have always understood that the band is more than the songs alone.
Masks.
Artwork.
Videos.
Stage production.
Symbols.
Mystery.
Controlled chaos.
It has all helped create the strange universe surrounding those nine-pointed stars and boiler suits, and this latest era appears determined to continue expanding it.
๐ท๏ธ Introducing (sic)est Records
โArsenalโ also represents a major business change for Slipknot.
The single arrives through (sic)est Records, the bandโs newly launched label venture, in partnership with Roadrunner and Atlantic.
Itโs another intriguing development following the conclusion of Slipknotโs previous long-term Roadrunner deal with The End, So Far.
For a band that has spent decades talking about control, identity, independence and doing things on its own terms, establishing its own label operation feels like a pretty logical next step.
And โArsenalโ now becomes the first musical statement carrying that new banner.
๐ค Three Years Without New Slipknot
โArsenalโ has also been described as Slipknotโs first new song in more than three years.
Thatโs an important distinction.
The band have hardly disappeared during that period.
Slipknot spent a considerable chunk of their recent activity celebrating the 25th anniversary of their landmark 1999 self-titled debut album, revisiting the record that transformed nine masked maniacs from Iowa into one of the most important metal bands of their generation.
But anniversary celebrations can only last so long.
Eventually youโve got to stop looking backwards.
โArsenalโ feels like that moment.
The nostalgia cycle is over.
Slipknot are facing forward again.
๐ธ Album Number Eight Is Taking Shape
And things could get considerably more interesting from here.
Slipknot are currently working on their eighth studio album, with guitarist Jim Root recently indicating that recording remains underway.
Producer Matt Wallace, whose extensive credits include Faith No More, has reportedly been involved with the sessions.
What we donโt currently know is whether โArsenalโ will actually appear on that record.
Slipknot havenโt officially revealed the album title, tracklist or release date, and the single could potentially stand on its own.
Either way, this is our first substantial indication of where the bandโs next creative chapter might be heading.
And after everything thatโs changed within Slipknot over the last few years, album number eight suddenly becomes a very interesting prospect indeed.
โก Nearly Three Decades Of Slipknot
Itโs easy to forget just how unlikely Slipknotโs journey has been.
When a collection of musicians from Des Moines, Iowa started appearing in masks and matching boiler suits during the 1990s, very few people could have predicted theyโd eventually become one of the biggest metal bands on the planet.
Their 1999 self-titled album detonated across heavy music.
Iowa made everything nastier.
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) expanded the formula.
All Hope Is Gone sent them to the top of charts around the world.
And through tragedy, internal conflict, departures, reinvention and enormous commercial success, Slipknot have somehow kept the machine moving.
โArsenalโ arrives almost three decades into that journey.
Yet rather than settling into comfortable legacy-band territory, theyโre once again changing personnel, launching their own label and recording another album.
Whatever your opinion of Slipknot, comfortable has never really suited them.
๐ธ The Riff Report Saysโฆ
Thereโs something rather fitting about Slipknot returning with a song called โArsenal.โ
Because this feels like a band taking inventory.
Eloy Casagrande behind the drums?
Check.
Corey Taylor barking like somebody has just stolen his last can of Monster?
Check.
Clown directing another wonderfully unsettling video?
Of course.
Massive riffs, strange noises and enough rhythmic violence to make your speakers consider filing a workplace grievance?
Absolutely.
More importantly, โArsenalโ marks the point where Slipknot finally stop staring into the rear-view mirror.
The anniversary celebrations were brilliant, and their self-titled debut absolutely deserves its legendary status.
But Slipknot have never survived by becoming a museum exhibit.
Theyโre at their most interesting when nobody is entirely sure what theyโre going to do next.
With a new label, a substantially reshaped line-up, Eloy Casagrande finally appearing on new material and album number eight currently being assembled, the next chapter has officially begun.
Will โArsenalโ end up representing the sound of the next Slipknot album?
We donโt know yet.
But one thing is certain.
The masks are back.
The weapons have been loaded.
And Slipknot have just opened the bloody arsenal. ๐ค๐ฅ
๐ต Single Details
Artist: Slipknot
Single: โArsenalโ
Release Date: 9 September 2026
Record Company: Warner Music Group
Record Label: (sic)est Records
Genre: Alternative Metal / Nu Metal / Heavy Metal
Music Video Director: M. Shawn โClownโ Crahan
Video Starring: Jackson White
Taken From: TBC / Eighth Studio Album Currently In Production
๐ธ The Riff Report โ Supporting rock, metal and the glorious racket in between.
